Arthur walked into the town of NER amidst the welcome of the mayor and hundreds of residents.
The fat mayor named Larking is indeed a shrewd guy. Not only did he personally lead people to welcome him, but he also specially organized hundreds of residents to welcome him at the gate of the town.
And under Larking's deliberate publicity, Arthur's deeds had already spread throughout the town. His lord was the hero who assassinated the orc prince, and the joy and respect on the faces of every resident came from the bottom of his heart.
Arthur felt elated for the first time. It turns out that becoming a noble and a lord is really addictive!
The town of NER previously belonged to the king and had no lord, so there was no lord's mansion for the time being. Arthur, Jose and other entourage were invited to the town hall by Mayor Larking.
The entire town's territory now belongs to Arthur, and Arthur can choose any place he likes to build the Viscount's Palace. Before the Viscount's House was built, he could only live in the town hall temporarily. Larking, who was sensible, vacated his room and gave it to Arthur.
After a warm reception, the welcoming guests were sent away, and the accompanying warriors were settled, Larking came to Arthur's room alone.
The focus really begins now, and before then, Arthur is happy with everything about Larking.
After Larking poured a cup of tea for Arthur and himself, he began to introduce the situation of NER Town to Arthur in detail. From the population, land, mines to local customs and etiquette, every item was explained in detail. .
Arthur listened quietly without making any comments.
"It's getting late, so I won't disturb the Viscount's rest. Tomorrow I will take you around the town. If you choose a place you are satisfied with, I can organize the manpower to build your mansion. In the past two years, the town has harvested The tax collected, after the necessary expenses, is more than 600 gold coins, which is enough to build you a very grand Viscount Mansion." Larking said before getting up and leaving.
Arthur looked at Larking with a half-smile but said nothing.
Larking was suddenly embarrassed and didn't know whether he should get up and leave.
"Before this, I was ready to let you continue to be the mayor, but it's a pity that you lied in the end." Arthur said lightly.
"Lord Viscount, what I said before was not a lie." Larking explained hurriedly.
"Then tell me, how much should the annual tax of a medium-sized viscount be? And how much is the town of NER?" Arthur hit the nail on the head.
Arthur, who was a mercenary, was extremely sensitive to money. When His Majesty Starchy gave him the viscount fief, he calculated how many gold coins he could earn in a year.
In the Kingdom of Isaac, for common people, five or six gold coins can meet the living needs of an ordinary family for a year. An income of ten gold coins a year is already a wealthy family. For nobles, a knight without a fief can earn twenty or thirty gold coins a year, and a baron with a village fief can earn about a hundred gold coins a year.
As for nobles at the level of viscount, depending on the size and poverty of the fiefdom, they will have tax revenue of seven to eight hundred to two to three thousand gold coins a year. Arthur's territory is medium, with mines, inns, trading houses and other businesses. It is estimated that the annual tax revenue will not be much different if it does not exceed two thousand gold coins. Even excluding the salaries and necessary expenses of the town's public officials, the remaining income per year will not be less than one thousand gold coins.
It has been more than a year and a half since Arthur was officially consecrated as Viscount Jiang. Larking said that the town's income was only over 600 gold coins, which was obviously a big problem.
Larking's sweat suddenly started to flow, "I will bring over all the account books for the past two years. I don't dare to touch any of the income from the territory since you were canonized."
Arthur waved his hand, "I don't want to look at the account books, I just want an explanation why the income of my territory is less than that of other viscounties."
Larking immediately looked troubled.
"Since you don't have a reasonable explanation, I can only check it myself." Arthur's voice has become a little cold.
Larking wiped the sweat from his head and said, "Sir Viscount, the income of the territory has indeed decreased significantly in the past two years. I dare not tell you the reason because I don't want you to get into big trouble when you first arrive in the territory."
"It seems you are kind-hearted? Give me an explanation first, and I will naturally decide whether to cause this trouble or not."
Larking breathed a sigh of relief and began to speak slowly: "We have a small iron mine in NER Town. Although the output is not high, the iron ore produced is of high quality. It is also produced by several arms shops and trading houses in the town. The products are also quite famous in this area, and the town's tax revenue is more than two thousand gold coins every year. Our town of NER is close to the territory of Earl Milne, and all the iron ore and iron products in the town are sold to the inland areas. We have to pass through the territory of Earl Milne. The earl levied an extra layer of tax on us. Things sold from the earl territory to the town also added a layer of tax. After the two-tier tax on entry and exit, the town collected more. There won't be much tax left."
"Oh?" Arthur was quite surprised. He originally thought that larking and the people below were involved in corruption, but he didn't expect that there was such a connection.
"Has Lord Milne always been taxing the town of NER?"
Latin hesitated for a moment, "No, it was not long after the king officially conferred the town to you that he started collecting taxes from the town?"
Arthur frowned slightly, it seemed that the other party was deliberately targeting him.
"For something so inconsistent with the rules of the kingdom, do you just allow them to collect taxes from the town's industries?" Arthur asked.
Larking's face showed bitterness, "I once went to visit the Earl, but he spoke softly, and the Earl didn't even see me. I also went to Gulper City, which I had jurisdiction over before, to appeal, but the city lord's palace said that the territory would be entrusted to you. It is a dispute between nobles and is no longer under the jurisdiction of the city lord. Several merchants in the town have also united to resist, but Earl Milne has 500 private troops, and our town's security team has less than 50 people. To resist is to strike with an egg against a stone."
Arthur tapped his fingers on the armrest of the seat and said nothing.
The Kingdom of Isaac stipulates that noble lords with fiefdoms can maintain private armies. The kingdom stipulates the maximum number of troops that nobles at all levels can accumulate. Below this number, as long as the nobles can afford it, the kingdom will not interfere no matter how much they raise. For example, the four major field legions with 100,000 men under the Four Dukes of the Kingdom have the nature of a semi-private army. A Marquis level can raise up to 5,000 private troops, an Earl level can raise a thousand private troops, a Viscount level can raise 200 private troops, and a Baron level can only raise 20 people at most.
Nobles are allowed to maintain private armies, firstly to maintain public security in the territory, and secondly, for the kingdom's foreign campaigns. Nobles have the obligation to send troops to participate in wars, and military pay, weapons and equipment are all borne by the nobles personally. For example, in the previous war between the two clans, half of the 200,000 inland reinforcements were guards from major cities, and the other half were the private armies of the nobles.
Larking plucked up the courage and continued: "I think there must be some misunderstanding here? Since you have arrived now, I suggest you visit Earl Milne in person with a gift. If the misunderstanding is cleared up, the matter may be solved. ."
Arthur suddenly raised his head and smiled, "Please give me a detailed list of the taxes Milne has collected from me in the past two years. I will take it all and visit him."